4 Ways To Increase Safety in the Construction Industry
As the owner of a construction company, employee safety is probably a top concern. You don’t want to be responsible for a death or accident, especially if the event could have been prevented. Construction zones are dangerous places, as you know. Employees are at risk of falling or being injured by equipment.
Proper training is essential for maintaining a safe workplace. Safety procedures protect your employees and your company too. Here are four ways to increase safety in the construction industry.
1. Train and Certify All New Employees
New employees must be fully trained before being allowed to use machinery and perform risky jobs. They may need to become certified in certain skills as an OSHA requirement. Becoming certified as a forklift driver or in another skill ensures the new hires understand how to operate the machinery and respond to safety hazards.
A safety training company offers classes for your employees so they can obtain certifications in various skills such as forklift, overhead crane, and scissor lift operator. This improves safety and keeps you in compliance with OSHA. New employees may already have certifications in place, but you may still want to put them through new-hire training.
2. Provide Continuing Education and Recertification
It’s also important to provide continuing education for employees to emphasize employee safety. By focusing on safety it helps employees remember how important it is to practice what they’ve learned. Plus, by attending classes on a set schedule, their memories for safety procedures are kept fresh. A safety training company provides OSHA training classes that relate to the construction industry as often as you need them to keep your employees current with training and recertification.
Classes provide the knowledge to perform the jobs safely. Your employees may need to pass a test to ensure they understand the training. Classes will be in compliance with OSHA and professional associations in the construction industry that provide codes and standards to follow.
3. Teach Basic Workplace Safety
Besides special training geared toward specific job duties, construction employees may need to undergo basic safety training and learn about OSHA and workplace guidelines. These classes teach general safety procedures for working in a construction zone. Employees will learn about potential health hazards and injuries related to the construction industry. In addition, training classes inform employees about employer duties to keep them safe and what to do if they’re injured.
They may learn about workers’ compensation and how to file a claim. Plus, they learn how to report an injury properly and within the right time frame so you’re always informed about the level of safety in your workplace. These classes might be provided online for the convenience of your employees, while other classes, such as rigging, might be better suited for in-person learning.
4. Reinforce Workplace Safety
It’s important not to let your employees get lax about workplace safety. Instead, it should be a daily priority. You can back up training by making daily inspections and checking work frequently to make sure all your employees are following safety protocols. Employees making mistakes or who don’t understand procedures may need to undergo further training to keep themselves and your work crew as safe as possible.
You may want to schedule regular safety meetings with your crew so everyone is informed about the number of accidents and risks found during inspections. Encourage and reward good behaviors while taking action when people get lax or take shortcuts that could compromise safety.
If you need help setting up an employee safety training program, contact National Safety Partners, a veteran-owned company. We’ll ensure your construction site is operating in accordance with industry standards and OSHA as well as federal and state regulations.
